Thursday, March 01, 2012

Fully fund public education, which is a
public good and is the cornerstone of a democratic society, a vibrant economy,
and the social and intellectual development of every individual.

Fully fund social services, which to a large
part provide a crucial safety net for the most vulnerable members of society
and therefore serve as a measure of society's moral standard.

Thousands of U.S. college students will walk out of class Thursday in a
coordinated day of protest against what may be another year of significant
higher-education budget cuts by state legislatures.

Young Democratic Socialists at UC Davis mobilized to participate in protests
during National Student Debt Week, Feb.27- March 2, across the country. Cornel West joined in the effortAction. http://vimeo.com/37209329

Student debt exceeded $1 Trillion in
2011- exceeding even U.S. credit card debt. For too many students access
to college is being closed by unsustainable debt burdens. College
tuition and fees have quadrupled fro 1982- 2007, far exceeding the rate of inflation.
Deregulation of the finance industry, particularly student loans, budget cuts
to higher education, threats to privatize programs in public colleges and
universities, and the recession and loss of career and job opportunities
for the young have created a crisis for thousands of students.

National YDS has prepared materials and
social media for the campus chapters to assist in their work. The week of
educational events and forums, leading to protests and possible occupations on
March 1 and March 5 in Sacramento is co sponsored by YDS and numerous other campus
groups.

"Occupy has been based around the interaction of local issues and
global issues," says Artem Raskin of Occupy UCDavis on the Huffington
Post. "We try to tie it to
specific issues on our campus, but at the same time keeping in mind that these
local issues have implications as well."

In California, where students have
been demonstrating since 2009 against schools raising fees, laying
off staff, hiring outside contractors for services and partnering with U.S.
Bank to turn student ID cards into debit cards, a coalition of unions and
student groups are protesting at 20 campuses. A unifying goal is to build
support for a ballot
initiative that would raise taxes on millionaires that organizers
say would increase state revenue and curtail further budget cuts.

Each California campus is also identifying its own issues. University of
California-San Diego protesters have issued demands
for increased funding for a variety of groups and services, as well as for
office space for these groups on campus. The students also demand that UC
reverse all funding cuts, tuition hikes and layoffs over the past several
years.